Language Change Progress or Decay?

ISBN-10: 0521795354

ISBN-13: 9780521795357

Edition: 3rd 2000 (Revised)

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Description:

This is a lucid and up-to-date overview of language change. It discusses where our evidence about language change comes from, how and why changes happen, and how languages begin and end. It considers both changes which occurred long ago, and those currently in progress. It does this within the framework of one central question - is language change a symptom of progress or decay? It concludes that language is neither progressing nor decaying, but that an understanding of the factors surrounding change is essential for anyone concerned about language alteration. For this substantially revised third edition, Jean Aitchison has included two new chapters on change of meaning and grammaticalization. Sections on new methods of reconstruction and ongoing chain shifts in Britain and America have also been added as well as over 150 new references. The work remains non-technical in style and accessible to readers with no previous knowledge of linguistics.

After many years lecturing with the University of London (at the London School of Economics and Political Science), Jean Aitchison was Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford (1993 2003) and is now an Emeritus Professor. She is the author of a number of books on language, including The Language Web (Cambridge University Press, 1997).

Preliminaries

The ever-whirling wheel: the inevitability of change

Collecting up clues: piecing together the evidence

Charting the changes: studying changes in progress

Transition

Spreading the word: from person to person

Conflicting loyalties: opposing social pressures

Catching on and taking off: how sound changes spread through a language

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